Kwara State: “Governor AbdulRazaq not elected to share public funds for patronage” – Muslim Cleric

A Muslim Cleric in Ilorin, Kwara State, Sheikh Habeebullaah Abdullah has said that Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq was not elected to share public funds for patronage.

He stated this during the one-year memorial prayers in honour of the father to the Kwara Governor, the first lawyer from northern Nigeria and a first republic minister, the late AbdulGaniyu Folunrunsho AbdulRazaq who died on July 25, 2020, at the age of 93.

The Cleric who is also the Rector of Markaz in Agege, Lagos State said; “A government has not been elected to share public funds for patronage, and patriots and lovers of the state must rise against opposition to any government based on the selfish interest of a few.”

He commended the Governor for his prudence, humility, spartan lifestyle, and his efforts to attend to the basic needs of the people.

“I had envisaged that you (government officials) would be raining millions here today but to my satisfaction, you did not. Otherwise, we would have asked where you got the money from. This shows you are prudent in government,” the cleric said, likening the Governor’s prudence to that of the iconic fifth caliph of Islam, Umar ibn AbdulAzeez who he said drew a line between family and government obligations.

According to him, the Governor has the task of delivering a state that would be at par with its contemporaries in basic facilities and human capital development indices.

He urged the Governor and his party men to forgive one another and to avoid vengeance

Sheikh Abdullah said he found it strange that anyone would wish for any government to fail.

“If some people got to power and then left a trace of blood and agony in their treatment of dissents, you should not do that. Your ancestry does not align with that. Forgive anyone who may have wronged you in any way. That will be the greatest legacy for your late father who was a great man of all time,” the scholar told the Governor.

Speaking on the recent development at Ilorin during the Eid al-Adha, Sheikh Abdullah said; “The character some people put on in the last Eid al-Adha celebration was not proper. It was disruptive and condemnable. The implication of such was that we were disrespectful to the Almighty Creator, the Prophet and concerned authorities. This act is not acceptable in a predominantly city of Islam like Ilorin. What God mainly requires from us to fulfil at the Eid al-Adha celebration is the fear of Him we carefully exhibit on our way to and return from the prayer grounds. I am not a politician but a cleric, and clerics are not expected to be partisan politicians. This is the truth, whether we like it or not. It is not about hatred against or love for anyone. It is about saying it the way it is.

“Those who truly love Kwara state must love you (Governor) and wish you success in office. It is our prayer that God continues to guide the government. What is our gain if our government fails.”

PIAK